BEAU’S FREE GARAGE

Park it forward

Foot traffic is heavy in the Heights, where hike and bike trails and residential side streets provide a backdrop of cheery bungalows, wildflowers, and lots of dogs. No matter how many times you’ve strolled down the same path, something new catches your eye. You spot a fairy door at the foot of a magnolia tree, or a life-sized Ronald McDonald statue waving from a second-floor balcony – suddenly your walk becomes a self-guided tour of the neighborhood’s creativity.

Beau’s Free Garage, the brainchild of an enterprising fiveyear-old, is an example of that creativity at work. A riff on the Little Free Library book sharing movement, Beau Roessler applied that concept to a car exchange for miniature vehicles. As a toy car collector practically from birth, Beau also enjoyed swapping his Hot Wheels with friends and thought other junior car enthusiasts would too. After pitching the idea to his parents, father and son constructed Beau’s namesake wood-framed garage with two floors and a retractable glass door. It now stands on a platform in front of their house.

Since the garage’s opening in 2021, pint-sized pedestrians and their parents make a pit stop to drop off slick hot rods, police cars, fire engines, and the occasional helicopter in the hopes of finding a new ride. Beau also hopes his fellow motorheads will be motivated to set up their own neighborhood give-and-take garage. Perhaps exchange-based train stations and dollhouses will be the next to appear, giving a whole new meaning to “free trade.”

Address Between White Oak Drive and East 5th 1 / 2 Street, Houston, TX 77007

TIP: While you’re in the Heights, visit the Little Free Library housed in a Beatles-inspired yellow submarine on 713 Pecore Street.